Folding bicycle-rack



(No Model) 1 I. m I 7. Z 9 7 00 6h. Wd/ 1 M. t 1 Z 6 I 1. 4 y 1 w u d e t H e b & P

NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ANSEL F. TEMPLE, OF MUSKEGON, MICHIGAN.

FOLDING BICYCLE-RACK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 585,722, dated July 6, 1897.

Application filed August 28. 1896.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, ANsEL F. TEMPLE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Muskegon,in the county of Muskegon and State of Michigan, have invent-ed certainnew and useful Improvements in Folding Bicycle-Racks; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My present invention relates to an improvement in racks or supports adapted to temporarily sustain bicycles in a vertical position at points where they may be, left for a short time by their owners, and in so constructing said rack or support that it may be easily foldable and unfoldable for the purpose of enabling it to occupy a small compact space for transportation or other purposes, and also so that it can be easily unfolded or extended and placed upright in its operative position with but very little manipulation or change of its parts; and the invention therefore consists, essentially, in the construction,arrangement, and combination of parts, substantially as will be hereinafter described, and then more particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, illustrating my invention, Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved bicycle-rack in its upright or operative position and in its unfolded or extended form. Fig. 2 is a plan view of my improved bicycle-rack with its parts folded together. Fig. 3 is a cross-section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is an enlarged detailed sectional View showing the locking device for keeping the parts of the rack in the extended or unfolded position and preventing their collapsing together.

Similar letters of reference designate corresponding parts throughout the different figures of the drawings.

In carrying my invent-ion into practical effect I first provide a rectangular frame A, having the side bars a a, which are connected together at their upper ends by the top bar 0, and also at their lower ends by the bottom horizontal bar 13. This frame A is adapted to occupy a vertically-inclined position when the entire rack is operatively placed. The

Serial No. 604,191. (No model.)

top bar 0 is provided with a series of downwardly-projecting pins or rods 0 c, which 00- cupy a substantially vertical position when the frame A is in its normal inclined position.

Pivoted to the side bars a a, near their upper ends, are the lateral bars or rails D D, which, when the entire frame is unfolded, occupy an inclined position, the angle of inclination being opposite to that of the angle of inclination of the bars a a, so that, as shown in Fig. 1, there is an acute angle between theloars D D and the corresponding bars CLCL. Between the bottom ends of the bars or rails D D is pivoted, by rneans of screw-pivots or other similar suitable pivoting devices, a rotatable roller or rod E, which forms a part of a horizontal skeleton baseframe consisting of a series of parallel rods or bars F F, which are fastened at one end to the aforesaid rod E and at their opposite ends are connected together by a strip f. This horizontal basal skeleton frame is so situated when the whole frame is unfolded that the rods F will be situated vertically beheath the depending vertical projections c, and hence the wheel of the bicycle can be easily entered between the rods F F and likewise between the vertical projections c 0, so that the machine may thereby be retained temporarily in an upright position in the rack.

In view of the fact that therod E, belonging to the base-frame of the construction, is pivoted between the lower ends of the side rails D D it is evident that the skeleton baseframe is foldable upward between the bars D D when the entire frame is folded. The connecting-bar B, belonging to the rectangular frame A, is provided near each end with wire or metallic rings b b, which engage, respectively, the outermost rods F F of the series of parallel rods belonging to the horizontal frame above described, and these outermost rods F are provided near their ends with notches d d, which are adapted to be engaged by the said loops or rings 1) when the entire frame has been extended or stretched to its farthest limit of extension. In this way an effectual lock is provided, so that the unfolded rack is kept rigidly in position and no change in the relation of parts being permitted until after the wire loops 1) b have been disengaged from the notches (Z d. When so dis engaged and the operation of folding the parts together takes place, it will be evident that the wire loops bwill slide upon the outermost rails F, said rails easily passing through the loops, as shown in Fig. 2, until the lower hori zontal frame is turned up into a position between the side rails D D, and the consequence of such change will be to draw the rectangular frame A close up against the rails D D and cause all the parts of the rack to occupy substantiallya flat position in the same plane, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the parts being thereby neatly and firmly compacted together, so that transportation of the folded rack is thereby facilitated.

Numerous changes maybe made in the exact construction and arrangement of the various component parts of my folding bicyclerack without departing from the invention, and I reserve the liberty, therefore, of male ing such changes as may be found necessary and expedient to more successfully adapt the invention to practical service.

On the top edge of the bar 0 of the frame A, I place two or three slotted clips or projections O O, the number thereof being immaterial, which are designed to receive an advertising-card 0 which may obviously be of any desired pattern and having any matter delineated thereon, the same being held firmly within the slotted projection O by means of the pin passing through one or more of the projections after the card has been inserted. It will be found very convenient for advertisers to purchase racks of the character described, and by placing their advertisements at the heads thereof the rack may be found to be averysuitable and efficicnt advertising DIGEUIS.

Having thus described myinvention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a folding bicycle-rack, the combination of a frame having vertical depending projections at its top, a frame pivoted thereto and designed to support it at an angle, a horizontal base-frame pivoted to the latter frame and consisting of parallel rails, and locking-loops on the base of the first frame engaging the latter frame, substantially as described.

2. In a folding bicycle-rack, the combination with a rectangular frame having loops on the bottom rod thereof, of the second frame pivoted to the first frame, and a horizontal folding base-frame, consisting of parallel rails engaged bythe aforesaid loops, substantially as described.

3. The combination of the rectangular frame having at its upper end vertically-depending projections, the second frame pivoted to the upper end of said frame, and the hori zontal base-frame having rails, together with automatically-operating locking projections 011 the bottom rod of the first frame engaging the rails of the latter frame, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ANSEL F. TEMPLE.

l'Vitnesses:

J. WILL HARVEY, WM. CARPENTER. 

